UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Chicago and Los Angeles will likely face increasing heat waves. Severe storm surges could hit New York and Boston. And cities that rely on melting snow for water may run into serious shortages.

These are some of the findings about North America in a report by hundreds of scientists that try to explain how global warming is changing life on Earth.

Don’t forget!

I’m doing the introduction on stage. It should be fantastic.

Here is the schedule: Today 1pm, we’re hosting a “conversation with Derrick Jensen” in one of the classrooms on campus. This is an invite only thing and it should be pretty rad. Then we’re having a pot-luck dinner with Derrick tonight at 5:30, just before his gig on campus at 7:30. I was told I can bring a few friends to these events, and I am bringing some people, but if you’re interested in going and meeting Derrick, let me know asap!

From his office in Nevada, entrepreneur Dennis Hope has spawned a multi-million-dollar property business selling plots of lunar real estate at $20 (£10) an acre.

Mr Hope exploited a loophole in the 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty and he has been claiming ownership of the Earth’s Moon - and seven planets and their moons - for more than 20 years.

These are “truly unowned lands”, he says. “We’re doing exactly what our forefathers did when they came to the New World from the European continent.”

Hope says he has so far sold more than 400 million acres (1.6m sq km), leaving a further eight billion acres still up for grabs.

Buyers include Hollywood stars, large corporations - including the Hilton and Marriot hotel chains - and even former US presidents Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter. George W Bush is also said to be a stake holder.

Take that!

MIAMI (Reuters)

Police in Florida have arrested an activist for feeding the homeless in downtown Orlando.

Eric Montanez, 21, of the charity group Food Not Bombs, was charged with violating a controversial law against feeding large groups of destitute people in the city center, police said on Thursday.

Montanez was filmed by undercover officers on Wednesday as he served “30 unidentified persons food from a large pot utilizing a ladle,” according to an arrest affidavit. The Orlando area is home to Disney World and Universal Studios Florida.

The Orlando law, which is supported by local business owners who say the homeless drive away customers but has been challenged in court by civil rights groups, allows charities to feed more than 25 people at a time within two miles of Orlando city hall only if they have a special permit. They can get two permits a year.

Police collected a vial of the stew Montanez was serving as evidence.

Police spokeswoman Barbara Jones said in an e-mail it was the first time anyone had been arrested under the feeding ban.

Montanez was charged with a misdemeanor.

More about the film, here.

During the last weekend of our spring break, I hiked with some friends to Havasupai Falls. It was great, though parts of the hike were a little more grueling than I thought it would be. At least that’s what I thought until we were being passed up by kids and old people.

It’s about a ten or eleven mile hike from the trail-head to the campgrounds. On the day we set out, it rained ALL day and well into the night. I know the desert welcomed the rain, but it made for a very muddy, wet, and cold day.

Apparently two days before we arrived, someone had jumped off a cliff into the falls and died. I guess he didn’t see all the signs saying that it was a bad idea. The falls were beautiful, but the water was still too cold for me, so we just hiked around and, like the yuppies we are, took a lot of pictures.

My only real complaint, and this might not be very popular, is the way in which members of the Havasupai Tribe treat the horses and mules on the trail. Next to helicopter, I understand that these animals are vital for getting supplies back and forth to the village. I also understand that the tribe doesn’t have a ton of money. On the trail we saw mules over worked and over loaded. They’re strung together close enough so that the mule’s mouth hits and rubs up against the behind of the one in front of it. Many of the mules we saw had bloody mouths because of this. Also, we saw some that were strung up side by side and because the trail is very narrow, mules scrap up their legs on rocks and canyon walls as they try to make room for two side by side, when there is only room for one. I just wasn’t expecting this.

I also wasn’t expecting other campers to litter as much as they did. I would have thought that people willing to hike ten miles in the desert might have some kind of respect for the land and the tribe. Of course, maybe those that are littering are those who pay for a helicopter ride.

All and all, it was a great trip and I plan on going back. I’d recommend the trip to anybody. The falls, the water, the landscape are all indescribably beautiful.

When I read about the recent pet food contamination that has killed scores of cats and dogs across the country, I wasn’t particularly worried about our dogs. This is because we make our own dog food…

Here is a list of recalls.

If the company that makes your “choice” of dog food is listed above or is owned by any company listed above, I suggest you throw out what you have and switch brands for a little while. I could be wrong, of course, but if I’m right, we’re talking about your dog’s life. A report just came out saying that the cat food contamination is even worse. So be careful.

I’m an advocate for making your own food. It costs virtually the same, it’s healthier for your pet, and you don’t have to deal with manipulative corporations. For example, Purina issued the following statement on March 28th:

“all Purina brand cat food products, all other Purina brand dog food products, including Mighty Dog canned products and all Purina brand treats can continue to be fed to your pets with complete confidence”

Two days later, they issued a recall. That doesn’t sound like a company that has the health (or life) of your pet as their top priority.

Why make dog food? The meat in dry dog food, which most people feed their dogs, is very low quality. It is literally the “left overs” from the meat industry. I imagine someone, after a long day of turning animals into products, sweeping snouts and entrails into buckets and selling them to pet food companies. I actually found a dead mouse in a bag of dog food before….so you know they’re just sweeping that stuff off a warehouse floor. More importantly, the meat is heated and cooked at extremely high temperatures, which is good for killing bacteria, but it also kills all the enzymes. Dogs are carnivores and fresh meat is essential to their diets (I met women a few years ago who, because she was a vegetarian, she also made her dog a vegetarian…when she was surprised when her dog got sick, I couldn’t help but shrug my shoulders). Raw meat contains enzymes that ensure the functionality of a dogs digestive system.

So, let this be my first receipt posting. Here is what I feed my dog. Depending on the size and metabolism of your dog, you can obviously adjust it. For example, our bigger dog eats two eggs per meal, the smaller just one. My dog is about 55 pounds.

1 egg (I also break up the shell into tiny pieces….egg shells are pure calcium)
½ a cup of oatmeal
2 “glugs” of canola oil
2 “glugs” of chicken broth (bottles “glug” when you pour from them…)

I would obviously love to feed my dog fresh meat, but that makes it really expensive. This diet costs a little over a dollar a day, and contains everything a dog needs. Because we have three dogs, we buy all this stuff in bulk, which gives us 10% off each item. To make things even easier, the egg can be plopped on top of the oatmeal, and you can put the whole mixture in the microwave (assuming you want cooked, wet oatmeal). My dog doesn’t care and will eat anything we shove under her. The diet also results in shiny coats and less shedding.